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In English, we use an apostrophe and an "s" (like "the teacher's book") to show possession. In Swedish, this is even simpler: you just add an **-s** to the end of the owner noun. There is **no apostrophe**.

The genitive **-s** can be attached to a name or a noun. When it attaches to a noun, it usually attaches to the definite form.

- **läraren** (the teacher) becomes **lärarens** (the teacher's)
- **företaget** (the company) becomes **företagets** (the company's)

Because the possessive word already makes the thing being owned specific, the owned noun drops its definite ending. It is **lärarens dator** (the teacher's computer), never *lärarens datorn*.

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### People, Professions, and Workplaces

You will often use the genitive to describe the relationships between people, their professions, and their workplaces. The **-s** can attach to a person to show who they employ or work with, or to a place to show who works there.

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### The Genitive as the Object

The genitive phrase can be the subject of the sentence, but it works exactly the same way when it is the object.

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The genitive (-s)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

The definite ending (barnet, hunden)

Indefinite articles and -ar verbs (en, ett)

Basic word order

Singular adjectives (stor, stort)

Plural adjectives (-a)

Sentence negation (inte)

Yes/No questions

Basic question words (vad, vem, var)

Regular Group 2 verbs (-er)

Short verbs and irregulars (har, gör)

The infinitive marker (att)

Modal verbs (kan, vill, måste, får)

Future intention (ska)

Time adverbs (imorgon, igår)

Word order inversion

Adverbs of frequency (ibland, aldrig)

Everyday things (dörren, stolen, tåget)

Definite suffix spelling changes

Plural nouns Group 1 and 2 (-or, -ar)

Plural nouns Group 3 (-er, -r)

Neuter indefinite plurals

Definite plural suffixes (-na, -a, -en)

Object pronouns (mig, dig, oss)

Reflexive pronouns (sig)

Expanded question words (när, varför)

Which and what (vilken, vilket, vilka)

Coordinating conjunctions (men, eller, för)

Prepositions of place (i, på, till, från)

Quantifiers (mycket, många)

Indefinite pronouns (någon, något, några)

First and second person possessives (min, din, vår, er)

Third person possessives (hans, hennes, dess, deras)

Reflexive possessives (sin, sitt, sina)

Adjectives before singular nouns

Adjectives before plural nouns (-a)

Double definiteness (den, det, de)

Demonstratives (den här, det här, de här)

The imperative mood

Past tense of vara and ha (var, hade)

Possessives for names (-s)

Definite plural adjectives (de ... -a)

Genitive case for names (-s)

Numbers 1 to 10 (en, två, tre...)

Numbers 11 to 20 (elva till tjugo)

Counting by tens to 100 (trettio, fyrtio...)

Days of the week (måndag, tisdag...)

Months of the year (januari, februari...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (första, andra...)

Greetings and politeness (hej, tack, förlåt)

Particle verbs of direction (gå ut, komma in)

Simple past: Group 1 (-ade)

Simple past: Group 2a (-de)

Simple past: Group 2b (-te)

Simple past: Group 3 (-dde)

Simple past: Group 4

Present perfect: Groups 1 and 2 (har)

Present perfect: Groups 3 and 4

Past perfect (hade)

Future predictions (kommer att)

Future with present tense

The adjective small (liten, litet, små)

Demonstratives of distance (den där, det där, de där)

Negative pronouns (ingen, inget, inga)

Universal pronouns (all, allt, alla)

The generic pronoun (man, en)

Possessive generic pronoun (ens)

Reciprocal pronoun (varandra)

Qualitative pronouns (sådan, sådant, sådana)

Habitual time expressions (på)

Specific past time expressions (i)

Past time expressions (för ... sedan)

Future time expressions (om)

Location and motion adverbs (här/hit, där/dit)

Consequences (så)

Correlative conjunctions (både ... och)

Either and neither (antingen ... eller, varken ... eller)

Verbs of opinion and belief (tycker, tror, tänker)

Subordinate clauses (att, om)

Time clauses (när, innan, medan)

Clauses of cause (eftersom, därför att)

Negation in subordinate clauses (inte)

V2 word order inversion

Relative clauses as subjects (som)

Relative clauses as objects (som)

Relative clauses for places (där)

Adverbs from adjectives (-t)

Adjective comparative and superlative (-are, -ast)

Irregular comparisons

Question	Answer
the teacher	läraren
The teacher's computer is new.	Lärarens dator är ny.
The company's boss is often tired.	Företagets chef är ofta trött.
the nurse	sjuksköterskan
The nurse's car is blue.	Sjuksköterskans bil är blå.
the doctor	läkaren
The man's doctor works at the hospital.	Mannens läkare jobbar på sjukhuset.
The woman's doctor works here.	Kvinnans läkare jobbar här.
The nurse helps the doctor.	Sjuksköterskan hjälper läkaren.
the police officer	polisen
The police officer's dog is fast.	Polisens hund är snabb.
We see the police officer's car.	Vi ser polisens bil.
the chef	kocken
We eat the chef's food at the restaurant.	Vi äter kockens mat på restaurangen.
the bakery	bageriet
The restaurant's chef buys coffee at the bakery.	Restaurangens kock köper kaffe på bageriet.
the carpenter	snickaren
the tool	verktyget
Where are the carpenter's tools?	Var är snickarens verktyg?
The carpenter needs his tools.	Snickaren behöver sina verktyg.
the author	författaren
I read the author's book.	Jag läser författarens bok.
The book's author is a woman.	Bokens författare är en kvinna.
the baker	bagaren
The baker's cake is big.	Bagarens kaka är stor.
The baker works in the bakery.	Bagaren jobbar i bageriet.
The teacher's office is big.	Lärarens kontor är stort.